The Avengers mansion was a quiet and solemn place right now. The 'A' logo had been turned black and the flag lowered to half staff as they mourned the loss of an Avenger and likely future Avenger. The sky over head was still raining with the occasional flash of lightning and clap of thunder. It was said that Thor himself, as well as the Great Panther God and all of Asgard were in mourning. SHIELD had been silent, likely between Coulson in shock and trying to find Gizmo. The phones had been taken off the hooks as the Wakandan Embassy and the flags lowered. News crews were parked outside trying to get an interview with Queen S'Fada or any other diplomat. Already roses, candles, stuffed animals and notes were appearing outside Titan Tower (well on the dock nearby), Avenger's Mansion and the Wakandan Embassy. Last reports said there were already well over 200 memorial pages to T'Shan, Lydia or both on various social media platforms.

But there was one man who knew about none of this, Time Lord, Agent Olly Madrox. He'd been in the past working on a side project when he remembered that he needed to check in with the Avengers. Sure they may not be a huge fan of him but he was still the designated SHIELD representative. It was an interesting job that meant he just needed to check in on the Avengers and ensure they weren't doing anything too crazy. While he might not be considered a friend by any of them he hoped they at least considered him an ally.

Just like every other time his portal opened in the entryway of the mansion and he came out of it almost strutting, humming a song.

"Shake shake shake senora..."

He was almost dancing a huge difference compared to the somber mood of both the mansion and the city.

"Afternoon Jarvis..."

He called out. He wasn't even sure if Jarvis would ever respond. Ginnie seeemed to control who Jarvis would respond to and wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't on that list. Like always he was fully dressed up. He was wearing a black trench coat, white dress shirt with a black tie, vest and pants. On his hip was his cutlass and in his underarm holster was his modified gun.

"It's so quiet, weird."

Then he rounded the corner into the sitting area where he noticed the TV was on. His eyes went right to the TV, a newscast. That was certainly not something he was used to seeing in the mansion. But then he fully took in what was being reported. They were playing back the last few moments of Scion and Captain Marvel's life. The scrolling words at the bottom told him everything.

'Scion and Captain Marvel killed by the villain known as 'Gizmo'. Save city from bomb apparently attached to Scion's neck. No word from the Avengers or Teen Titans.....'

"Oh no....what day is it? Damn it....I had a speech prepared and everything."

TAGS: Aileen Barton, @imp, James Barnes Jr, Lilura Hex, Virginia "Ginnie" Stark, Rupert Rhodes

Pain. That's all Aileen felt. It'd been a fairly normal day for her when she'd seen the story on the news. Just flipping through her phone and it had come up. Scion and Captain Marvel killed. Dead. Gone. She'd dropped her phone the second she'd read that, and collapsed. After an hour or so crying and unable to move, she'd finally been able to crawl to her room and make it into bed before the tears came again. And that's where she'd stayed. She had no idea how long she'd been there, and she didn't care. There was a part of her that couldn't believe it was real, didn't want to believe. But she knew. Deep down, she knew that they were gone. Just like when her dad had been gunned down. She'd been glued to the screen, and then the camera had cut away, and when it cut back, Clint Barton had been bleeding out. She always found out through the news.

She felt like she'd cried herself out, but a fresh wave of tears came over her. It just hurt. She'd known Lydia, she'd liked her. The younger girl had been a friend. But it was T'Shan who was the real gut punch. T'Shan. There was so much she was going to miss there. So much she'd already missed the chance for. She'd liked T'Shan. Really liked T'Shan. Maybe more than that. But then something had always gotten in the way. She'd always put it on hold. Always assumed she was going to get the chance to do something about it later. And now there wasn't a later. There never would be. And she'd been practically blushing him off the past few months. She'd let what had happened get the better of her, and he'd been hurt. And now she wouldn't have the chance to make it up to him. That made things even worse, and her chest was racked with sobs. The bit of bedsheet she'd laid her head on was soaked through, but she didn't move.

A small part of her brain thought that she should go and look for Ginnie. Lydia had been practically like a sister to her, and she'd known T'Shan longer than Aileen had. Maybe they could help each other out here. But that was a very small part of her mind, and the rest of her didn't see the point in doing anything other than laying here. It didn't matter what she did. She wouldn't bring T'Shan back. She wouldn't bring Lydia back. She could hear voices coming from nearby in the tower, but she didn't care. She just hoped they'd go away and leave her on her own soon.

The door to the mansion flew open and Captain America stormed in, Black Panther behind him. "I am going to kill him. There is nowhere on this Earth that Gizmo will be able to hide from me." James didn't believe that they were dead. He couldn't believe it. He'd stormed around and smashed pieces of technology. He'd even gone as far as to punch a SHIELD agent in the face when they called it a double homicide. Now, he was back at the mansion. He'd come for one thing.

Under the bed, in his room, James had stashed a Winter Soldier costume. This new mission was nothing that Captain America could do. He would get the costume, then he would find Gizmo and he'd put him down. There was no need for anything resembling an arrest. He was just going to find the mad man and then execute him. He didn't want to risk anything with a sniper rifle. This was going to be up close and personal.

James wanted to avoid any of the other Avengers. He didn't want anyone talking him out of this. But even he knew that he was doing a piss poor job of being stealthy. He'd be surprised if anyone on the team didn't hear him. Even if they weren't in the Tower. And Ginnie... She would not be pleased with him. She would talk him out of it. He couldn't face her. Not until it was done. And maybe not even after that. Aileen might try to talk him out of it. But she was still afraid of him. And now James was giving her and everyone else good reason.

Loud footsteps echoed as he stormed up the stairs. Cap walked into his room and pulled a trunk out from under his bed. He dialed a combination on the keypad and opened it. He started throwing the contents on the floor. After a moment, he smashed out the false bottom inside the trunk and started pulling out Winter Soldier gear and laying out weapons. God help Gizmo, if he found him first.

I'm dying and I'm trying but believe me I'm fine

Ginnie had been at work when it all happened. What more, when JARVIS initially notified her, she had considered going in to help. But the news he brought of Black Panther and Captain Marvel joining Scion had stopped her. She knew them both, one of them far better than the other. They could handle it. They could handle some scrawny wannabe techy no sweat. So she had gone about her work as if it was a normal day, simply waiting to hear about the victory. No such victory 'call' was recieved, however. The message that came from JARVIS made her stop what she was doing, even. "No, you're wrong," she said after a moment of stunned silence. If the AI had a physical form, he would be shaking his head at the moment though. "My apologies, Miss Stark but it is true. They're gone."

The television flipped on in the office and the channel the news was being shown on came up. The news cast was seemingly replaying it again and again, talking over it in disbelief. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared. "Turn it off..." she said quietly. She couldn't take her eyes off of the screen, reading the text over and over, watching the video feed. The television flicked off, but her eyes still remained there. She tried to keep her tone even, keep it steady as she spoke, but cracks were already forming in it. "I want you recording that newsfeed and sending it to my personal computer for analysis. They're not dead... they just... They are not." She barely believed her own words, however. The ashes were hard to see, but they had still obviously been there on the screen. She had seen them blow away. But... that didn't mean they were definitely dead right?

She slowly got up from her desk, using the back of her arm to try and wipe the tears away, blinking rapidly to keep more from falling. Her feet led her towards her personal little bar. She needed a drink, it always helped, right. Her hands were shaking too badly for her to properly pour one, however. Her thoughts just filtering the newsfeed over and over in her head. "Miss Stark, if i may interject my thoughts here? Perhaps you should head to the mansion. It seems Olivier is there. Perhaps..." She barely let him finish, grabbing her coat and hurrying out the door. Her mind set was something different from what JARVIS's program was likely thinking, however. "Yes.. i can get him to go back, can't I?" Of course she could! Or that's what she told herself.

---

JARVIS had control over most of the security in the Avenger's Mansion and he was always aware of when people came and went. While the occasional protocol told him not to speak to certain people without direct order, on some smaller level he also understood how rude it was. So when Olly said hello, the AI politely responded. "Good day, Captain Madrox." There were a few beats of silence from the AI before he spoke again. "Miss Stark has been notified of your appearance. Do prepare yourself for a barrage of questions and demands."

---

Virginia had considered taking some sort of vehicle to the house but with the traffick patterns at the moment, it would be useless. So instead, she opted to walk speedily. She should be running, she knew that, but both her body and mind needed a moment. Her body to stop things like the tears she was fighting or the shaking in her hands. Her mind to try and compartmentalize the emotions that were flooding her. She had to give a strong face for her team, at the very least. Make sure they were assured that things would be dealt with, be there for them when they needed her most. It only occurred to her on her walk there how hard it was hitting James. That was his sister...

That got her jogging at least. "James has now entered the mansion. His words are a bit troubling." "What was said?" "Were it anyone else, it wouldn't be a worry. However, given what is known about him, I'm afraid he may be serious." That didn't answer the question directly, but it was enough for Ginnie to understand. He was going to hunt the murderer down. As much as a part of her woulf love that, she couldn't allow that to happen. It wasn't the hunting itself that worried her. It was what James would do when he caught up with Gizmo.

Picking up a bit more speed, she pushed past people on the street to get to the mansion. It hadn't taken nearly as much time as she had anticipated. The girl had to stop when she got through the door, blocking it a moment. She could hear James moving to his room. Or perhaps that was around his room, she wasn't entirely sure. "Whatever you do, you do not allow him to exit this building," she ordered. She moved through the mansion to catch up to him, briefly waving to Olly without much care as she went passed. Tears were threatening her eyes again but she ignored them as she made her way up. She knew she probably couldn't actually block the way if he wanted out, but thar didn't stop her from trying to block the door as best she could. "You can't do this."

909	@captain Aileen Barton James Barnes Jr @blackpanther
Done on my phone as i have work all day. I will make it pretty when I'm home. If anything needs changing, just let me know.

But I'm lying, I just don't wanna fall away

✿

COUNT:xxx TAG: names OUTFIT: link NOTES: blah blah	Ada...Ada was in a strange state of mind. There was apart of her still fighting to believe that by some miracle, both T’Shan and Lydia were still alive, someplace, anyplace. That part of her, no matter how much it fought knew it was fighting a useless battle of denial. Most of her was calm, eerily so, almost to point of wondering if she was feeling anything at all. On some level, she understood that the man she was following into the Avengers Mansion was not in his right mind. An instinct took over. An instinct to help, support, be the shoulder to cry on, the bag to punch, the ear that would listen. James needed all that, even if he couldn’t admit it. She paused as she entered, noticing Olly, standing there. He looked...good in that vest, even if she wanted nothing more to do with him than continue giving him the could shoulder that she already had been. And yet, she paused, just looking at him. The emotional pain was most likely etched into her face and burned into her eyes, evident for anyone to see. Why was he here? Did he know what happened? He didn’t look upset or distraught or anything. Did he simply not feel like others did? Why not? He should. It was weird and strange and unnatural to not feel. What was wrong with him. The door opening brought Ada out of her little inner monologue. She looked away from Olivier, realising that James had disappeared by now, but someone else rushed by her. Ginnie was giving orders to Jarvis not to let James leave the house. His words had been as serious as she had assumed, and Ginnie was headed straight towards the man’s room. If it came to a fight, which it might with the man in that state of mind, Ginnie could use some help. Ada took off after her at an easy stride. Her goal was to back the Iron Lady up if she needed it. Following Ginnies also got her out of the line of sight of the TV that was still showing her brother’s final moments.
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Template by Melz/mizlopez89 @adoxography & Caution2.0

Olly watched as James walked in followed by S'Fada. He glanced at her butt before Jarvis snapped him out of his own little fog. As soon as it did he suddenly put his attention on what he was focusing on right now.

"Something bad is going to happen isn't it Jarvis?"

He wasn't actually expecting an answer. To be honest he hadn't expected much of an answer from him. Let alone in the first place, but not especially now. Then he heard crying from upstairs. He began to curse himself before looking up at the ceiling.

"Jarvis. I need to send a message to all teams. I know you can do it and I know I don't have the codes. But I'm trying to ensure James doesn't kill a potentially innocent man. I need to send a message to all teams. Captain Marvel and Scion are alive. I repeat, Captain Marvel and Scion are alive."

He knew he had the authority to at least talk to all of the Avengers. He'd likely get the message to them. Message sent he then grabbed a notebook from his coat and began to walk through the mansion. He was simply taking note of everything going on. He personally didn't care about the goings on of the Avengers. They did their jobs and saved the world. That was all he truly cared about.

Aileen wasn't showing any sign of changing her mood or choice of activity for the day. She continued to lay with her head on sodden bedding, crying like her life depended on it. In fact, she missed the start of whatever JARVIS was saying. As the voice came through her communicator, she was tempted to throw a pillow at it or something to shut it up, but she knew that was pointless. JARVIS could just come over the PA to tell her what he had to if she did that. It was probably a message from Ginnie or something, an update. And that wasn't something she was interested in right now. But then she heard what the latter bit of the message said, and she froze. Everything stopped. Her tears, her sobs, her guilt and grief-stricken thoughts. Everything except her pounding heart and her heavy breathing.

Olly was saying T'Shan and Lydia might be alive. That was pretty much the only bit of the message she cared about. They could be alive. And Olly, for all of his many faults, seemed to know stuff like that pretty well. Before she'd really thought about what she was doing, she was up and out of bed, flinging her door open. Without thinking, she started to run, taking the stairs two or three at a time. She had to find out what he meant. She didn't care that she looked an absolute state. She didn't care that she was barefoot, or that her hair looked like she'd been sleeping in a bush, or that her face looked a pale red, blotchy and irritated from crying. She had to find out the truth, even if she had to single-handedly beat it out of Olly herself.

She burst into the room, and without pausing she moved to grab Olly by his lapels and push him against the wall, her face close to his. 
"What do you mean?" She asked, an uncharacteristic growl bursting from her tear-choked throat. "What the hell do you mean they're alive?" Her words were slow, coming one at a time and dangerous, but there was something of a desperation about them. She wanted to believe it, but she'd seen them torn apart by a nuke. If Olly was lying, for whatever reason, she'd kill him herself.

The contents of the trunk were now fully removed and James was checking the guns over and making sure they were loaded and ready to go. Then he'd move on to the gear. Ginnie's voice broke the silence. James spoke without looking up. "Sure I can, Iron Princess. I used to do this kind of thing all the time. It's easy. I'm going to find him and shoot him in the head. Granted, it won't bring them back, but it will make me feel better."

James started moving the contents of the trunk that he'd spilled out to make space for his gear. A small painting Lydia had made during a high school art class fell out from between the clothes. Something he'd meant to hang up, but never gotten around to it. James paused, looking at it. He picked it up and kept his back to Ginnie. His body visibly deflated. "She's gone, isn't she? And I don't have the power to fix this."

Then he heard Madrox' voice over his comm. James had just assumed he was here to flirt with Ginnie when he stormed past him. He wasn't really a fan of Olly, so he didn't often give him the time of day. The words coming over the comm gave him a chill. James turned around and noticed Ada standing behind Ginnie. In his rage, he hadn't noticed a second person there. That told him all he needed to know. His rage had blinded him. In a combat situation, he could have been killed. This is the part where someone would relieve him of duty anywhere else.

James grabbed a pistol off his bed and shoved it into a holster, attaching it to his belt. "Let's go see what Captain Time F*cker has to say..." In his current mood, he might just shoot Olly if he didn't like the words.